Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#1

Post by flinc » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:24 PM UTC

After John Dvorak accused Vivek Kundra of being a phony, Tim Oreilly shortly afterward tweeted a link to a youtube video of John "explaining how he lies to get controversy" http://twitter.com/timoreilly/status/3271565056 and later stating that he is "trolling for traffic" http://twitter.com/timoreilly/status/3272103221 Dvorak responded that this was an ad hominem attack http://twitter.com/THErealDVORAK/status/3280289449 The question is still bugging me, Is he a professional troll?

Some virology podcasters were recently irked that he uses a podcast with a big audience to spread H1N1 hysteria.

Full podcast episode: http://www.twiv.tv/2009/08/09/twiv-44-no-hysteria/

Dvorak clip: snippet: http://susdomestica.posterous.com/no-agenda-equals-no-knowledge

(I debated whether this is Hacker News worthy but decided to submit for discussion either way as up/down votes will answer this question)

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#2

Post by fallentimes » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:39 PM UTC

Yes.

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#3

Post by kennethreitz » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:43 PM UTC

Yes x 2.

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#4

Post by ujjwalg » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:44 PM UTC

fallentimes wrote: post #2

Yes.

I believe he is. However, I believe a lot of news organizations/blog owners are trying to do it these days. They will have very controversial/eye catching headlines with no substance in the article to gain more traction. Dvorak is a few steps ahead, he tries to justify those headlines by pulling fake data.

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#5

Post by henning » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:48 PM UTC

fallentimes wrote: post #2

Yes.

Successful professional troll is successful.

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#6

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:49 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#7

Post by vijayr » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:49 PM UTC

Can't the same thing be said about people like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter? They twist and turn facts, drum up controversy and spread hate/fear.

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#8

Post by nostrademons » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 8:50 PM UTC

Most journalists are. If they weren't, nobody would pay attention to them, and if nobody pays attention to them, they don't make any money. (Ergo, they can't be a professional without being a troll...)

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#9

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 9:02 PM UTC

kennethreitz wrote: post #3

Yes x 2.

[deleted]

Re: Is Dvorak a Professional Troll?

#10

Post by tjogin » Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 9:02 PM UTC

vijayr wrote: post #7

Can't the same thing be said about people like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter? They twist and turn facts, drum up controversy and spread hate/fear.

Oh, definitely. But they might not be trolling on purpose; there is the off chance that they actually believe the stuff they're saying.